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Several volcanoes located within the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ are exhibiting heightened activity lately, leading experts to carefully monitor them for possible eruptions.
This region, also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt, forms a 25,000-mile ring of volcanic and seismic activity stretching from South America to Alaska, moving through Japan, and reaching down to New Zealand.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has identified four active volcanoes in the United States, including the Great Sitkin Volcano in Alaska, which has been consistently releasing lava into its summit crater for almost four years.
Recent satellite imagery confirms the eruption remains slow and non-explosive, with lava continuing to flow southwest.
In Hawaii, Kilauea has paused its lava fountains but continues to build pressure.
Scientists anticipate a new eruptive phase between July 17 and 20. Although lava fountains have ceased, sulfur dioxide emissions remain elevated, measured between 1,200 and 1,500 tons per day, indicating ongoing volcanic activity.
Mount Rainier in Washington experienced its largest recorded earthquake swarm in early July, with 334 quakes detected over two days starting July 8, raising vigilance among volcanologists.
Offshore Oregon, the underwater Axial Seamount is under close observation, with researchers forecasting an eruption possibly occurring in 2025.
Scientists reported that in Hawaii, Kilauea has paused its lava fountains only to build up pressure again, with a new eruption episode expected between July 17 and 20.
Pacific Ring of Fire, map with oceanic trenches. Also known as Rim of Fire, and as Circum-Pacific Belt. Region around the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur
According to the scientists, these volcanoes are unpredictable as they are a result of natural movement in the Earth’s crust, especially along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
That is because this area is where the Pacific tectonic plate sinks under neighboring plates, creating quakes and eruptions.
Even with the flurry of quakes and lava, none of these volcanoes currently threaten the nearby communities.
Each of the rumbling volcanoes has its own history and behavior pattern. The Great Sitkin Volcano, located in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, began erupting in 2021 after decades of inactivity.
In April, USGS volcanologist reported that lava has slowly filled the crater over the years, building a thick dome, but it has not triggered ash clouds or air travel disruptions, a key concern for aviation in the region.
Lava is still pushing out of the summit crater at Great Sitkin Volcano in Alaska. It is not explosive, but steady. Small quakes continue, and there is no sign the eruption is ending anytime soon.
Mount Spurr, roughly 80 miles west of Anchorage, had its last explosive eruption in 1992, sending ash clouds 40,000 feet into the sky.
The recent shallow earthquake swarms echo early warning signs from that event, though experts say there is no magma movement yet.
In Washington, Mount Rainier experienced its largest swarm of earthquakes ever recorded in early July, with 334 quakes detected in just two days starting July 8
Nearby, Mount Spurr has had shallow earthquake swarms since February. As of now, it is quiet, no gas, no lava, and no expected eruption, but USGS has kept it under an advisory level.
However, Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, is being monitored around the clock because of its proximity to residential areas.
In 2018, lava flows from the volcano destroyed over 700 homes in the Leilani Estates subdivision. Scientists are now tracking surface deformation, quake movement, and gas emissions to anticipate another potential hazard phase.
Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world but is not part of the Ring of Fire. It sits above a hot spot in the Earth’s mantle, a fixed plume of heat and magma that stays in place while the Pacific Plate moves slowly over it.
Seismologists are now concerned that Kilauea is swelling again and showing more quakes, signs it could erupt soon.
Scientists say the Great Sitkin Volcano in Alaska has been steadily erupting lava into its summit crater for nearly four years
A vent on the undersea volcano Axial Seamount. Scientists expect an eruption next year, but it will likely go unnoticed by anyone except the seafloor monitoring teams
The activity could mark the start of what is known as Episode 29, the latest phase in the volcano’s ongoing eruption cycle that began in 1983.
The volcano, containing gas, ash, and threads, poses a threat to humans due to its confined nature and potential for eruptions.
Mount Rainier, despite not erupting in centuries, remains one of the most hazardous volcanoes in North America because of its massive glacial coverage.
A 2023 USGS risk assessment found that even small eruptions or earthquakes could trigger deadly mudflows, known as lahars, capable of reaching communities like Orting and Puyallup within minutes.
Earlier this month, the volcano experienced its largest earthquake swarm since 2009, with hundreds of small tremors rattling the area.
According to USGS, each quake was under magnitude 1.7 and originated just a few miles beneath the summit, deep enough to raise concern among scientists.
While the volcano’s alert level remains at ‘normal’ and no ground deformation has been detected, this swarm adds to approximately thousands, of quakes recorded at Rainier since 2020.
Although an eruption is not expected in the immediate future, experts still rank Mount Rainier among the most dangerous volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest due to its potential to unleash lahars, ash fall, and pyroclastic flows.
Scientists emphasize that it is not lava that poses the greatest threat, but the lahars. These violent mudflows can form during an eruption or even without one, triggered by intense rainfall, melting snow, or weakened slopes.
Off Oregon’s coast, Axial Seamount continues to slowly inflate.
Scientists expect an eruption next year, but it will likely go unnoticed by anyone except the seafloor monitoring teams.
Volcano experts say there is no cause for panic. The activity fits into long-term patterns in the Ring of Fire and Hawaii’s hot spot as the scientists are watching them closely.
